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Astronomy Picture of the Day - Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Fragments
NASA ^ | 3 Sep, 2023 | Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (JHU / APL), M. Mutchler and Z. Levay (STScI)

Posted on 09/03/2023 1:40:14 PM PDT by MtnClimber

Explanation: Periodic comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 has broken up at least twice. A cosmic souffle of ice and dust left over from the early solar system, this comet was first seen to split into several large pieces during the close-in part of its orbit in 1995. However, in the 2006 passage, it disintegrated into dozens of fragments that stretched several degrees across the sky. Since comets are relatively fragile, stresses from heat, gravity and outgassing, for example, could be responsible for their tendency to break up in such a spectacular fashion when they near the hot Sun. The Hubble Space Telescope recorded, in 2006, the featured sharp view of prolific Fragment B, itself trailing a multitude of smaller pieces, each with its own cometary coma and tail. The picture spans over 3,000 kilometers at the comet's distance of 32 million kilometers from planet Earth.


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: nasa
To be added or removed from the Astronomy Picture of the Day ping list please send me a request via "Private Reply" (Mail).

For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.

1 posted on 09/03/2023 1:40:14 PM PDT by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

2 posted on 09/03/2023 1:40:39 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; America_Right; ...
Pinging the APOD list.

πŸͺ 🌟 🌌 πŸ”


3 posted on 09/03/2023 1:41:25 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber
Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 Fragments

I see more than 3 fragments ...

4 posted on 09/03/2023 1:48:37 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (They say "Our Democracy" but they mean Cosa Nostra.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

I see more than three fragments too. FR won’t let me change the title. I would have said “Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann strayed into the wrong neighborhood and got busted up real good”.


5 posted on 09/03/2023 1:55:52 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

Compton or Dearborn?


6 posted on 09/03/2023 2:05:21 PM PDT by rfp1234 (E Porcibus Unum )
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To: MtnClimber

Climate change. We’re all gonna die.


7 posted on 09/03/2023 2:59:48 PM PDT by bwest
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To: MtnClimber

It’s pretty cool to see this. Beats the hell out of seeing a Starlink satellite chain.


8 posted on 09/03/2023 7:54:58 PM PDT by telescope115 (I NEED MY SPACE!!! πŸ”­)
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To: MtnClimber

original chemtrail.


9 posted on 09/03/2023 10:31:18 PM PDT by huldah1776
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To: ClearCase_guy

That’s just a fragment of your imagination...................


10 posted on 09/05/2023 5:25:31 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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